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Thread: Froggy went a courting

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Aug 2019
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    Default Froggy went a courting

    Hi All,

    This is a piece I've nearly finished. I'm just waiting for some wire for the brooch fitting, it can also be worn as a pendant. Its the second frog I've done the first was fine silver but this one is sterling. It is champleve enamel and the fourth piece of enamel I've done, I'm still a complete novice and loving finding out about the enamelling process. The cells for the enamel were mainly engraved but I did try out some cutting with burrs. I find the engraving is better as I have more control. Some of the cells were then textured with a bur after they were engraved. It was torch fired and this has worked out much better than the first frog where I had problems with the red reacting to the propane torch, the torch I used on this one was propane/oxygen. Some colours are fine with torch firing but some are very temperamental. I used super pickle to clean the silver before enamelling and that seems to have worked well. I had problems with the cloisonne parts, I will have to get some of the fine tweezers that the real enamelists use. There are a number of different frogs that I have images for and I'll be experimenting more in the months to come. Let me know what you thinks please.

    Click image for larger version. 

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  2. #2
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    Dec 2009
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    Thank you for showing that Alastair. It will give some of us heart to try it for ourselves. I particularly like the way the textures cut into the metal influence the enamel and the controlled way that the colours blend into each other. Dennis.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Feb 2020
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    Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK
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    Lovely piece Alastair.

  4. #4
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    That's fab!! Aren't you clever

  5. #5
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    Dec 2014
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    South Australia
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    Nice job. ( he/she thinks so as well I can tell by the big smile )I have never had a problem with propane and re enamel, then I do not do very much enamel these days, I have one on the list so I better do some testing first

  6. #6
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    Aug 2019
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    Oxfordshire
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    Thank you all for the nice comments its much appreciated

    Quote Originally Posted by china View Post
    I have never had a problem with propane and re enamel
    Your comment has caused me to reevaluate my supposed problem with propane and I don't think I'm right with my assumption that it was propane that was the problem. What I also did differently on the first piece was to apply the torch directly where the enamel was and I think this may have caused overheating on the surface of the enamel with the red reacting most. I didn't do that with this piece, all of the heat was from below. I think that this is why counter enamel on torch fired items is generally unsuccessful with the counter enamel turning a muddy brown.

  7. #7
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    Oxfordshire
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dennis View Post
    and the controlled way that the colours blend into each other..
    Thank you Dennis, I think it has been partially successful but I've got some more work to do to get it how I would like it, isn't that always the way ;-)

  8. #8
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    Dec 2014
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    I think you may have solved your own problem, I have only ever heated with a torch from below, back in the seventies I made many many hundreds of enameled copper pieces, you could not make enough back then, all done with a torch Back then instead of
    counter enamel I used a lacquer on the back, I know this is not correct but it twas how every one did it back then.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Feb 2011
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    Scotland
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    That’s great. Really impressed with the fact it’s torch enamel. The quality n your last piece on Instagram looked amazing.
    My OH had bought a starter kit a couple of years ago with mixed results as he’s not a jeweller. He is now following your free book link and her work and is in the shed as we speak with some of my fine silver filigree wire. He needs a new project now that he may be here until the end of Aug and so I don’t kill him in the meantime. He is very fired up about is, excuse the pun, but now he’ll talk about nothing else. It’s not one of my interests and I’ll have to tune him out to focus on my own work!

    I’ve been passing on your comments and results to him so will tell him about your torch finding although he does like to find these things out for himself and doesn’t take tuition well from me on anything:/

  10. #10
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    Aug 2019
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    Oxfordshire
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    Thank you for the nice comment.

    Quote Originally Posted by CJ57 View Post
    That’s great. Really impressed with the fact it’s torch enamel.
    I've wanted to try enamelling since I was around 15 years old and have only just got around to it really since I saw some torch fired enamel on YouTube. I did not want to spend out a lot on equipment, especially if I was not going to do a lot of it.

    Quote Originally Posted by CJ57 View Post
    I’ll have to tune him out to focus on my own work!
    Headphones work quite well :-)

    Quote Originally Posted by CJ57 View Post
    I’ve been passing on your comments and results to him so will tell him about your torch finding
    If he is trying transparent enamels then make sure they are washed thoroughly so that only the larger grains are left. I use tap water initially and then do a final couple of rinses with deionised water. I do grind down the surface after with a carborundum stone and then give a final fire.

    Quote Originally Posted by CJ57 View Post
    he does like to find these things out for himself
    I'm just the same, its the interesting part. :-)

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